| Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993. |
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| salutary (adj.), salute (n., v.), salvo (n.) |
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| The Latin etymon for salutary and salute is salus, “health,” but although salutary has kept to that general meaning, salute has developed from a figurative use meaning “to wish health to, to greet.” Today’s salute is only a greeting. A salvo (from salve, “safe”) fires many guns at once and originally was also intended as a salute, that is, as a greeting and a compliment. It has now come to mean figuratively “any sudden burst of loud, simultaneous sound” as in a salvo of cheering. The plural is salvos. See also HEALTHY; PLURALS OF NOUNS ENDING IN -O. | 1 |
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| | | The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Copyright © 1993 Columbia University Press. |
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